Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1887-12-21
But Still Seeks a Route Into
Montana.
What the Union Pacific En-
gineers are Doing.
Northern Pacitic's Programme
for Next Year.

01Veu6lOu. from Uno WeSC we near C10G 1Gf
surveyors have crossed eastward through
Ceur d'Alene Pass, run down the st. Regis
Borgia and up the Missoula river. From
the length OF time that has been spent
about the Ceur d'Alene Pass it would seen
that it is highly favored by Engineer Rogers
as a feasible crossing OF the Bitter Root
Mountains, and it is, besides, directly east
of the Wenatchee. by which the road would
probably penetrate the Cascade Mountains
on it's way to S~noquassmie Pass. From the
Benton River Press it is learned that En-.
gineer Barclay recently returned from az
exploring trip to Two Medicine Lodge Pass
in the main divide, approached from the
east by one OF the branches OF the Marias,
This would indicate that
A CROSSING
of the Rockies is still being contemplated,
or at least, that is intended to procure
accurate and elaborate data of all possible
routes before coming to a decision. There
would be some great disadvantages en-.
tailed by making a crossing OF the Rockies
SO lar North as any OF the heads of the
Marias. There is no practicable route for
a line to the Pacific on anything like a
direct route west, on that latitude. On
crossing the Rockies it would have to turn
South through the Flathead country,
losing about $50 miles in distance before
again turning West at the mouth of the
Pend d'Oreille River. The mountain regions
in the North part of the Territory are sub.
ject to much heavier snowfall than at this
latitude, and frequent snowslides form
serious distractions to travel by rail or
otherwise.
IT WILL cos
the company many thousands of dollars,
and a great deal of time to find out all
about these ma tiers, and when they do
they may conclude to be satisfied with the
crossing they have already made between
Butte and Helena and run their Pacific ex-
tension west from Butte. There is ap-
parently a great loss of distance in the dip
from Fort Assinaboine to Butte, but that
would be compensated for by the direct
shoot to tide water that can be made from
here; cheaper construction, immunity from
snow slides, lighter average grades and d
vastly more productive country to traverse.
The road is to be pushed west of Butte in
any case, and they might as well push it
through to tide water. The construction
work on the Oregon Pacific in Eastern Ore
gon, and the Elkhorn, Fremont & Missouri
Valley road in Wyoming
HAS BEEN TOPPED
simultaneously. They both belong to the
Chicago &Northwestern's Pacific extension,
and apparently intend to suspend until
spring. Nelson Bennett has thrown up his
contracts IN the Oregon Pacific on account
OF unfair treatment by the chief engineer,
and paid off his men. While work on this
portion of the Chicago & Northwestern's
system will probably be suspended until
spring, the company are still feeling their
way into Montana at several points on the
east and south bound aries, and their plan
of campaign will be found to be about as
recently described in The MINER. Though
Manager Potter intimated, when he was in
Butte, that the Union Pacific could not
build branches until Congress should unite
the hands OF the company, it seems that
the company are confident Of being able to
PUSH THEIR SYSTEM
Of branches in Montana next year. At the
very time that Mr.. Potter was in Butte, a
party of Union Pacific engineers were
quietly running a line up the Madison,
above Ennis, and how many more of the
mysterious engineering parties that have
been prowling about the mountains OF
Southern Montana all GUNNER, belonged
to the Union Pacific, it is hard to say. One
thing is certain, that the company has for
the last several years had explorers looking
up all practicable routes from valley to
valley. and camp to camp throughout this
great mineral region. They travel over
the mountains with barometers, compasses,
odometers and portfolios, and they have
been net on several of the trails crossing
from the Bitter Root Valley to Idaho, as
well as in many places between the Bitter
Roots and the National Park. The com
pany must have accumulated
A WONDERFUL AMOUNT
OF valuable data, concerning the practic.
able and impracticable routes all through
these regions, and when they commence
their net work of branches next year, they
will not have to waste much time on ex.
perimental lines. The Union Pacific knows
more about the profitable traffic supplied
by the mining camps than any other north.
ern company. They have taken many
millions out of Butte, and they see future
millions in many other camps that arc
springing up on all sides of this camp.
Butte will be the center OF a system Of
Union Pacific branches that will give her
rich returns for all she has paid the Utah
& Northern. The Northern Pacific will oil
course make direct connection between
Butte and Gallatin as early as possible. It
evident that their branch from Helena to
Butte is intended chiefly to
DRAW THE TRAFFIC
Of the Jefferson County mining camps into
Helena or Butte, as the case may be, but it
is not intended to handle the great volume
of traffic that the company expect to get
here. That will be done by the branch
through Pipestone Pass. which is probably
the only pass in the Rocky Mountains in
Montana that can be crossed on a. lighter
grade than 116 feet per mile. The Butte
and Gallation extension is destined to
carry In enormously heavy freight traffic,
az it will make the shortest line possible
from Butte to the East, and give direct
future supply this camp with coal and
coke. This branch will also open a short
route to the promising new mining districts
at Castle and elsewhere east of the Belt
Mountains. Engineering parties
ARE NOW RUNNING
preliminary surveys from Tosten and
Townsend to Castle district and White
Sulphur Springs. 1t is probable that the
company intend to steal a march on the
Chicago & Northwestern by extending the
branch from White Sulphur Springs east
ward down the Musselshell, and across to
the Yellowstone at Billings. The Northern